The shediest ML in the WORLD (possibly)
Discussion
tomble22 said:
I think it probably confirms that very often the type of people who own a sheddy 4x4 are the type of people who aren't really bothered about maintaining said sheddy 4x4.
Agreed. The fixes i've done in a week are such little things that add up to making it so much better. My spend so far is still under £100 yet I think i've transformed it into something much more friendly on the eye.Don’t chase them. Ignore the issues which don’t make the car undriveable.
If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
Slow said:
Don’t chase them. Ignore the issues which don’t make the car undriveable.
If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
Is it not essential to have the missing thingy that's missing?If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
rich12 said:
Slow said:
Don’t chase them. Ignore the issues which don’t make the car undriveable.
If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
Is it not essential to have the missing thingy that's missing?If not you just end up spending so much as to have bought a nicer one.
Scrape it through another mot and don’t spend anything that’s not 100% needed.
Then you don’t mind when you ruin it further till it’s sold as spares or repairs eventually.
I wouldnt be worried about 1 of 5 missing, I have done this before on all 4 wheels for almost a year after forgetting to get replacement nuts for the locking ones I had to get a garage to remove as no key.
We had a offroad business and our beater/shed/pickup converted by cutting the back off was running 2/5 wheel nuts by the end as it kept donating them to other vehicles. This was taking serious offroad abuse with the wheels regularily going airborne and smashing down. Wheel never came loose. All this was 15mph and below but the wheel nuts lasted longer than the chassis which snapped.
Slow said:
Of course you *shouldnt* do this but nothing bad will happen to your wheel. Wait to see what it fails the mot on before you preemptively fix lesser issues.
I wouldnt be worried about 1 of 5 missing, I have done this before on all 4 wheels for almost a year after forgetting to get replacement nuts for the locking ones I had to get a garage to remove as no key.
We had a offroad business and our beater/shed/pickup converted by cutting the back off was running 2/5 wheel nuts by the end as it kept donating them to other vehicles. This was taking serious offroad abuse with the wheels regularily going airborne and smashing down. Wheel never came loose. All this was 15mph and below but the wheel nuts lasted longer than the chassis which snapped.
I feel like I can still get 2 nuts without taking away the sheddiness though. I wouldnt be worried about 1 of 5 missing, I have done this before on all 4 wheels for almost a year after forgetting to get replacement nuts for the locking ones I had to get a garage to remove as no key.
We had a offroad business and our beater/shed/pickup converted by cutting the back off was running 2/5 wheel nuts by the end as it kept donating them to other vehicles. This was taking serious offroad abuse with the wheels regularily going airborne and smashing down. Wheel never came loose. All this was 15mph and below but the wheel nuts lasted longer than the chassis which snapped.
rich12 said:
C70R said:
I find it pretty amazing that you could own a car for so long and not spot something so critical. Who knows what else you could have missed?
You find it amazing I didn't look into the deep recesses of the wheels to make sure all the bolts are there? Dear oh dear.
Fellow W163 ML500 owner here. Mine has slightly less rust.
I’m on my second one now, bought an ML350 that was a bit more rusty but mechanically perfect. Decided I wanted a cleaner/tidier one and got one with almost no rust! 1 winter later and it’s going in all the usual places, hooray for 2000-era Mercedes paint application process!
Yours seems great value for the money, I really enjoy the driving experience. These are often overlooked as Clarkson berated that initial pre facelift one but later (2001-) cars are much better built. Tiff reckons they don’t handle too bad either, but at 2tonnes it’s hardly a race car.
MPG especially on the 500 is miles ahead of period cars like the Range Rover. V8 and 22mpg commute? That’s the same as my old Astra was!
These are super practical and have great sound deadening, also if you’re a weirdo like myself you’ll love the styling. (Rust is a feature!)
I’ve been debating an exhaust mod, with one of those valve jobs that goes inline, key fob operated. But now I’ve heard yours I really want it.
Accelerator pedal as mentioned are a crap design, the plastic rubs against itself becomes loose and also creates a groove which can make them a bit on/off. They are cheap from MB or you can put a bolt in it and it cures it forever.
I’m on my second one now, bought an ML350 that was a bit more rusty but mechanically perfect. Decided I wanted a cleaner/tidier one and got one with almost no rust! 1 winter later and it’s going in all the usual places, hooray for 2000-era Mercedes paint application process!
Yours seems great value for the money, I really enjoy the driving experience. These are often overlooked as Clarkson berated that initial pre facelift one but later (2001-) cars are much better built. Tiff reckons they don’t handle too bad either, but at 2tonnes it’s hardly a race car.
MPG especially on the 500 is miles ahead of period cars like the Range Rover. V8 and 22mpg commute? That’s the same as my old Astra was!
These are super practical and have great sound deadening, also if you’re a weirdo like myself you’ll love the styling. (Rust is a feature!)
I’ve been debating an exhaust mod, with one of those valve jobs that goes inline, key fob operated. But now I’ve heard yours I really want it.
Accelerator pedal as mentioned are a crap design, the plastic rubs against itself becomes loose and also creates a groove which can make them a bit on/off. They are cheap from MB or you can put a bolt in it and it cures it forever.
rich12 said:
C70R said:
I find it pretty amazing that you could own a car for so long and not spot something so critical. Who knows what else you could have missed?
You find it amazing I didn't look into the deep recesses of the wheels to make sure all the bolts are there? Good thread op, looking forward to more updates. What's next?
L9 GTE said:
Fellow W163 ML500 owner here. Mine has slightly less rust.
I’m on my second one now, bought an ML350 that was a bit more rusty but mechanically perfect. Decided I wanted a cleaner/tidier one and got one with almost no rust! 1 winter later and it’s going in all the usual places, hooray for 2000-era Mercedes paint application process!
Yours seems great value for the money, I really enjoy the driving experience. These are often overlooked as Clarkson berated that initial pre facelift one but later (2001-) cars are much better built. Tiff reckons they don’t handle too bad either, but at 2tonnes it’s hardly a race car.
MPG especially on the 500 is miles ahead of period cars like the Range Rover. V8 and 22mpg commute? That’s the same as my old Astra was!
These are super practical and have great sound deadening, also if you’re a weirdo like myself you’ll love the styling. (Rust is a feature!)
I’ve been debating an exhaust mod, with one of those valve jobs that goes inline, key fob operated. But now I’ve heard yours I really want it.
Accelerator pedal as mentioned are a crap design, the plastic rubs against itself becomes loose and also creates a groove which can make them a bit on/off. They are cheap from MB or you can put a bolt in it and it cures it forever.
Hi!I’m on my second one now, bought an ML350 that was a bit more rusty but mechanically perfect. Decided I wanted a cleaner/tidier one and got one with almost no rust! 1 winter later and it’s going in all the usual places, hooray for 2000-era Mercedes paint application process!
Yours seems great value for the money, I really enjoy the driving experience. These are often overlooked as Clarkson berated that initial pre facelift one but later (2001-) cars are much better built. Tiff reckons they don’t handle too bad either, but at 2tonnes it’s hardly a race car.
MPG especially on the 500 is miles ahead of period cars like the Range Rover. V8 and 22mpg commute? That’s the same as my old Astra was!
These are super practical and have great sound deadening, also if you’re a weirdo like myself you’ll love the styling. (Rust is a feature!)
I’ve been debating an exhaust mod, with one of those valve jobs that goes inline, key fob operated. But now I’ve heard yours I really want it.
Accelerator pedal as mentioned are a crap design, the plastic rubs against itself becomes loose and also creates a groove which can make them a bit on/off. They are cheap from MB or you can put a bolt in it and it cures it forever.
I will admit, I do actually like the shape of it and do enjoy driving it (more so now the fecking brakes aren't squeaking).
The go pedal does need sorting ASAP as it doesn't even kick down like it should.
I've had pretty much every 4x4 from this era and tbh this so far does seem the best all-rounder albeit it's the cheapest I've ever paid for one.
I've ordered some lube to try and stop the creaking noise coming from the drivers side front. I was under the car earlier bouncing it up and down and its definitely a Bush but can't work out which one so will just spray them all and hope for the best.
GR_TVR said:
rich12 said:
C70R said:
I find it pretty amazing that you could own a car for so long and not spot something so critical. Who knows what else you could have missed?
You find it amazing I didn't look into the deep recesses of the wheels to make sure all the bolts are there? Dear oh dear.
kups?
rich12 said:
C70.. If you can honestly say every single car you've ever bought, you've gone round and checked all wheel nuts are present (and presumably fully tightened) before buying the car, then fair play to you.
The celebration of running a car without basic maintenance and simple safety checks on here is bizarre. It reminds me of Retrorides in some ways.
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